Destilado de Agave, Belato, 'Agustin Guendulain'

• Destilado de agave produced in San Luis Amatlán, Miahuatlán, Oaxaca 
• Maestro Mezcalero Agustín Güendulain
• 100% Belató (A. sp, unspecified agave variety)
• Cooked in a conical underground stone oven
• Crushed with horse-drawn tahona
• Fermented in open air sabino (cypress) vats (tinas)
• Distilled twice using traditional copper pot stills 
• Earthy aromas of wet bark, fresh clay, roasted yam, stewed orchard fruit, citrus pith and zest, with a palate that widens to offer sweet herbs, pine sap, yellow flowers, cacao nibs, and a touch of parsnip
• 51% ABV (ABV may vary batch to batch)

An exceedingly rare variety of agave, Belató is most likely an unclassified subspecies of Agave americana. With huge, long leaves that curve gently upwards like sabers, the plant closely resembles Arroqueño—the most famous A. americana—or another subspecies cousin, Pulque Chino. Much like those varieties, it reaches maturity at around eighteen years. Endemic to the southern mountains of Miahuatlán, the wizards behind the Cuish label have only managed to secure enough to bottle a batch once before in their nearly twenty-year history; this batch, their second, yielded just 100 liters. A true piece of agave history and a snapshot of Oaxaca’s heritage, even as that past continues to vanish, this batch is for mezcal heads and not to be missed.